A Jackson County judge sentenced Shawn Allen Jr. to 18 years in prison this week after he pleaded guilty to killing a man found shot inside a home's doorway near East 29th Street and Wabash Avenue in Kansas City last year. Allen entered guilty pleas to one count of second-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action on Friday, and prosecutors dismissed the remaining charges against him as part of the case's resolution.
Guilty Plea Closes Out 2025 Shooting Case
According to FOX4KC, Jackson County Judge Sarah Castle sentenced Allen to 15 years for second-degree murder and three years for armed criminal action, ordering the sentences to run consecutively for a total of 18 years behind bars. Kansas City police officers had responded to the shooting near East 29th Street and Wabash Avenue on June 1, 2025, with one account noting officers arrived just after 8:30 p.m., per FOX4KC; another report from KCTV5 says police were called to the area just before 8:30 p.m. that evening.
Officers found the victim, identified by the station as 31-year-old Juvonie E. Minor, lying inside a home's doorway; a Kansas City Star report on the case spelled the victim's name as Javonie E. Minor, citing court records. A woman at the scene attempted to render aid before Minor was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after, the station's report states.
Witness Accounts Pointed to Allen
Court documents cited in the station's reporting indicate Allen walked up to the residence and fired into its front door before leaving the scene in his vehicle. Witness reports informed detectives' determination that Allen was the shooter, according to the same account. Jackson County prosecutors announced the original felony charges against Allen on June 4, 2025, saying at the time that he faced second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action, per the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office. The office noted then that Allen was presumed innocent unless and until he was found guilty or pleaded guilty — the plea entered this week resolves that question.
Prior Conviction in Allen's Record
Allen was previously convicted of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a firearm, with a Jackson County District Court sentencing him on Dec. 18, 2023, to seven years in prison and three years of probation for that case. The earlier conviction predates the Wabash Avenue shooting by roughly a year and a half.
The killing was counted as Kansas City's 69th homicide of 2025 at the time, according to data tracked by The Kansas City Star, compared with 63 homicides tallied by the same point in 2024. With this week's sentencing, the case against Allen in Minor's death is now closed.
